Cocoa and Fig Archives – Page 2 of 3 – Studio Laguna Photography

Little White Dress

May 2, 2013 By katrina Leave a Comment

Tonight was the first night of L’atelier Couture‘s Little White Dress Event. All weekend, they will be showcasing darling dresses from Lula Kate, Kirribilla, and Chloe & Reese with special trunk show pricing. These dresses are perfect for bridal showers, rehearsal dinners and for the honeymoon! If you would like to set up an appointment, please contact Tess@LatelierCoutureBridal.

I simply love the gowns L’atelier carries, they are a study in textures.

The dressing rooms are just as fabulous as their gowns!

Yummy accessories!

Colorful gowns by Tara LaTour.

The Living Room provided snacks, Prohibition mixed drinks and Cocoa and Fig had a beautiful dessert display for all the guests.

I hope you enjoyed these images! Be sure to visit this trunk show, the dresses truly are fantastic!

Ainsley’s Fairy Birthday Party

November 18, 2012 By katrina Leave a Comment

We don’t do birthday parties every year…so when the kids turn 5, they get a big bash. Our little Ainsley is inquisitive, shy, mischievous, dainty, and bright. She truly IS a pixie…here is some evidence, though it is difficult to catch her on camera ; )

So when it came time for Ainsley’s birthday party, it was pretty natural to get into a fairy theme. We aren’t all about pink and glitter and girly stuff, so when the newer Tinkerbell movies came out, we were super excited. YAY for intelligent female leads that do things other than smell flowers and braid their hair! In the Tinkerbell movies, the fairies gather Lost Things and tinker with them to build useful tools. Since we already have fun little items from years of photo shoots and crafts, it was easy to decorate. These little guys have been in our garden for two years now and perfectly show our kids’ personalities, so they greeted guests at the door.

Over the last few weeks, we started making and collecting food and decor items. Oranges, yellows and purples along with moss and neutrals gave us the woodland theme we were looking for. We kept all the leaves in our yard and took down the prints in our front studio to be replaced with giant butterflies (thanks Marie!), leaves, and paper florets. We made sure the kids were involved in everything to keep them excited and create some fun memories.

Healthy food as well as some goodies were on the tables for people to graze on. We even had sparkly fairy grown up juice for the parents (ie beer) and tried to keep everything organic and natural to keep the fairies happy. Cake pops and macarons from Cocoa and Fig were a huge hit naturally, as were the basil citrus bites from Jessica’s Cakes. Since Jessica has transitioned from baking to creating cake details (www.sweetbloomssugarcraft.com), I was super nervous that we wouldn’t be able to have her delicious treats at our birthday parties anymore. But I camped outside her shop and cried and cried until she finally agreed to bake one last cake for Ainsley. (I know, I’m shameless…but her cake is THAT GOOD) She designed a little fairy for the top of the cake that Ainsley will get to keep!

John led the kids on a scavenger hunt. Luckily, he is a PE teacher and knows how to wrangle masses of young children. Also luckily, the weather was AMAZING so we could use the outdoors.

The final part of the hunt led the kids with flashlights in the dark basement to quietly search for something…and they discovered A REAL LIVE FAIRY!!!!! Her name is Clove, and the kids were completely mesmerized by her.

After reading everyone a story, Clove and Ainsley quietly colored…

…while Stephanie entertained the more boisterous kids…

…and experienced a bit of Lord of the Flies. Nothing like getting kids riled up and then giving them back to their parents!

Here is another picture of beautiful Clove, also known as Emily. She is one of the sweetest people I know and not only is a very talented dancer and actress but also is an amazing floral and event designer. You should check out her company, Prairie Fair!

The afternoon sun started to set, children went home (and will hopefully sleep well tonight) and our little fairy had the biggest grin on her face. SO WORTH IT =)

Jared and Tara

November 10, 2012 By katrina 3 Comments

Jared and Tara were married today!

This is a couple that LOVES city life. The night lights, the vibrant action, the food, amazing sights to see, the food, beautiful architecture, the food…so it wasn’t surprising that they chose a modern wedding with bold clean design and a food truck reception in the Minneapolis warehouse district. I think that last sentence just described wedding perfection =)

The invitation featured a typography design from Fine and Dandy Paperie, and the script was carried over into their living room, where the ceremony was to take place. Lovely floral arrangements from Simply Stated Elegance were bold and playful and gave everything a bright pop of yellow throughout the day.

I just adored Tara’s knee length Casablanca gown from Posh, and Jared was just so dapper in his custom Heimie’s Haberdashery suit. They both felt (and looked) like a million bucks! A portrait session at the Walker not only spoke to the couple’s style but also allowed for some beautiful outdoor shots since apparently Minnesota forgot it was November and gave us a 60 degree day. Woot woot!

The ceremony took place in the couple’s home. Everything looked lovely and we joked that there should be an announcement “This wedding is brought to you by Etsy” since so many ideas and details came from that website. Every little piece fit and looked like a styled bridal shoot, it was so pretty!

During the ceremony, there was a ring warming. The rings were passed around to each family member as they put their prayers and thoughts into them before passing them on. Grandpa even gave a thumbs up when he was handed the rings =)

After the ceremony, friends joined the family at 110 North Loop Loft for the reception. This space was so fun. The garage doors let in a pleasant breeze and opened right up to Washington Street, where Gastrotruck was parked and preparing a delicious selection of food. ALL DAY Jared and Tara were talking about how they couldn’t wait for the food, and these foodies even brewed their own beer for the evening. They had a hand in every detail of the menu planning, including wine selections and a couple sushi trays with sake. Their main goal was to blow everyone away with the menu and they sure did!

Isn’t Tara’s custom designed ring so lovely?!?!?!

To wow guests even further, Jared and Tara had Cocoa and Fig design a fabulous spread of desserts, including a gourmet hot chocolate bar. I bet everyone was in a food coma by the end of the night. Everything tasted so delicious!

Jared and Tara, it was a joy being a part of your day today. I’m so glad you experienced such a loving and memorable day, you deserve it! Enjoy your sneak peek!

Family Lunch

July 27, 2012 By katrina Leave a Comment

We don’t get normal family weekends, which is fine, we knew that when we started being wedding photographers. But it can get tough to carve out time during the work week. Balancing family and work has been something we learn year by year, adjusting as we go. Our main focus is, of course, to keep a stable, happy life for our kids and marriage. We meet so many amazing families through our weddings and portrait sessions, and I grill them on how they parent (seriously) which has also helped us formulate our parenting structure and how we manage our life. Something that we have recently discovered is the impromptu outing. This can be tough for our type A personalities. John doesn’t like impromptu decisions very much, and I like making sure we’re efficient with our time. But we have learned to let that go and just enjoy.

Today, we had to scout a location for tomorrow’s wedding, so rather than go by myself I suggested we all go and explore. Of course, I did get the kids dressed awesomely cute (I can’t let go of my type A all the way…) but otherwise, we just went with the flow.

After exploring the site, we parked near Marquette in Minneapolis to get lunch from a food truck, which was a fun adventure all on its own. The Barrio tacos were delish and a sushi truck gave the kids a little pickled octopus (which they did not eat). Feeling a nice breeze and walking downtown on a summer day felt so luxurious!

We found ourselves near Gaviidae Commons, so went upstairs to Cocoa and Fig for some cake pops. Since I wanted to take a few pictures of the kids, we thought we’d get them sugared up.

My plan didn’t necessarily work…they didn’t want to smile, they wanted to eat…so John asked to hold onto their pops for a couple pictures…

…plenty of goofy…no smiles.

They burned out quickly…Lyra wouldn’t stay still and Cooper and Ainsley were SO OVER IT.

Which means it is time for jumping pictures, which then leads to the very last shot…

…awesome, real smiles.

Goodness, we love these kiddos! (now back to editing…)

Tim and Lucy

July 14, 2012 By katrina 7 Comments

Tim and Lucy were married today!

Tim and Lucy had the very first wedding in the new addition of the American Swedish Institute and they sure gave the venue a fun inauguration! The couple used modern Scando design in all aspects of their wedding, from the birch themed invitation suite designed by Megan Moore Smith, to serving Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam at the reception. Lucy even wore the traditional Swedish crown to compliment her sophisticated ensemble.

Tim looked fabulous in his suit from Heimie’s Haberdashery, that man knows how to wear a bow tie!

After we photographed the couple and the gorgeous grounds, it was time for the ceremony. Roger Beck framed the ceremony site with the most exquisite yellow and blush roses I have ever seen! Combined with birch and lambs ear, his designs were simply stunning. The ceremony was lovely and a perfect blend of sweet, funny, and sentimental. Tim played the accordion as his bride walked down the aisle, and Lucy’s brother read the beautiful passage from The Velveteen Rabbit that gets me every time!

On the front steps of the Turnblad Mansion, guests were handed champagne, could have their picture taken with fun props at a photobooth, gaze at the gorgeous interiors, or just enjoy the lovely quartet playing festive Swedish tunes.

The reception began with a processional led by the couple and accompanied by the quartet. I just love how music played such an important roll in the day.

The food was…wow…just so amazing. And that is no surprise because it was created by Fabulous Catering. They not only had delicious food, but it was presented beautifully and the service was impeccable.

Not to be upstaged by dinner, the dessert was also fantastic. Jessica’s Cakes, as usual, created a lovely cake that had flavors I have never tasted before. It was so good! Traditional Kransekake was also available and cute Minnesota and Wisconsin lemon cookies from Cocoa and Fig were at each place setting as a gift.

And just when we thought we had seen it all, Lance from Instant Request started up the dance and that place was jumpin’!

Tim and Lucy, thank you so much for having us tell the story of your day. It has been a joy getting to know you and we were so honored to spend this day with you. Enjoy your sneak peek!